PS4-exclusive minimalist platformer N++ debuts gameplay footage

N++ developer Metanet has revealed the first footage of its PS4-exclusive platforming sequel in action.

For the uninitiated, the original N was a free, browser-based minimalist platformer, while its commercial sequel, N+, was released in 2008 on XBLA, DS and PSP. All N games stick you in a series of single-screen stages where the goal is simply to open the exit and make your escape before the time limit expires. Along the way you can gather gold to extend your timer.

It sounds simple, but the series' fluid movement system makes controlling one's ninja avatar an easy to grasp, but hard to master proposition. "N++ has a unique feel which distinguishes it from other platformers," Metanet explained on the EU PlayStation Blog. "The ninja moves with an exaggerated sense of inertia and momentum."

"Gradually learning how to control the ninja - developing an intuition for how it will react and how to harness its momentum - is one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of the game. Once mastered, the ninja is capable of some fantastically agile acrobatics; there's nothing like the thrill of pulling off a difficult manoeuvre to soar untouched through a swarm of enemies."

Like N+, N++ will feature a two-player co-op mode and a race mode where four players compete to make it through a stage the fastest. This sequel will also add an all-new Deathmatch mode in the vein of the free game Jump 'n Bump, where players try to eliminate each other by jumping on their heads.

EG-contributor Dan Whitehead was a big fan of N+ upon its 2008 release. He called it "a wonderful concept executed with no small amount of wit and style" in his N+ review.

N++ is being developed by three people: Metanet's Raigan Burns and Mare Sheppard, along with Dyad developer Shawn McGrath.